Let Me Take Care of You
by oxEmmaxo
Summary: Leaf is back home in Pallet Town, but she isn't feeling too great. When a certain arrogant, spiky-haired someone comes over to keep her company, will something happen? One-shot. LeafGreenShipping.


"Achoo!"

Leaf wiped her nose as she sneezed, rather messily, into a tissue as she stared blankly at the TV screen. There was some program on about useful strategies for Pokémon battles, and although she would normally have been interested, right now she just felt like curling up in a ball and dying. She felt terrible.

Her nose was all stuffed up and it couldn't decide whether it wanted to run or stay so blocked that she couldn't breathe properly. Her chest and throat were sore, and the fact that she had a nasty cough didn't help matters. To top it all off, she had a splitting headache that refused to be at all eased by any remedy she tried. Saying that she didn't feel too great was an understatement.

Leaf sighed, letting her eyes drift closed as she clutched the blanket tighter around herself and tried to tune the world out. Surprisingly, it was actually working and she was almost asleep when the sound of a ringing doorbell awakened her dazed senses. She groaned.

_Who could it be?_ she wondered as she slowly, painstakingly peeled herself from the leather chair and trudged toward the door, leaving the thin blanket behind. The doorbell rang again, which only served to worsen her headache.

"All right, all right, I'm coming!" she called out, annoyed. _Maybe it's Ash_.

Her mood brightened a little at the possibility. She could use someone to keep her company, to distract her from how bad she felt. Ash might be dumb, but he sure was distracting.

She quickened her pace. But when she pulled open the door, she began to wish she hadn't. It definitely wasn't the friendly raven-haired boy from next door who had come to see her.

"Hey Leaf, I heard you were back and I want a battle, so-" Gary said, but was cut off as Leaf proceeded to slam the door in his face. He grabbed it before it could close, however, and peered past it at Leaf. His eyes widened.

"Whoa, you look even worse than usual! What happened, did someone finally hit you in the head with a shovel or something?"

At that point, Leaf was suddenly conscious of her appearance. Her long brown hair was unbrushed and tangled, wisps of it matted to her forehead with sweat. She was wearing her usual outfit but her skirt was crinkled and her tank top was one of her spares, and was slightly faded. She knew from looking in the mirror earlier that morning that her face was ghostly pale, her eyes were glassy, her nose was red, and her lips were pale and chapped. In other words, she looked as bad as she felt.

"I'm sick, you jerk," she snapped, her voice thick from her cold, as she tried to pull the door closed. "Now why don't you just leave me alone?"

Unfortunately, in her weakened state, she was no match against Gary's strength at that point, and the door remained open. She looked up to see him studying her carefully, with a strange expression that she couldn't quite place. Before she even registered what was happening he'd pushed the door open fully and stepped inside, closing it behind him, and begun to drag her by the arm.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed in shock, struggling to free herself from his grasp. His firm grip only tightened, though, and she ended up being pushed against his chest. It was then that she realised how close they were, and she was immensely glad that he couldn't see the deep blush that was creeping its way along her cheeks.

"Looking after you, stupid," he responded, "since you obviously can't do that yourself." Leaf opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke again before she could say a word. "Just shut up and let me take care of you."

For the first time in her life, Leaf did what Gary told her to. She stayed quiet and stopped struggling against him as he led her over to the chair. When she was seated she knew she shouldn't look up; she knew he would have that irritating smirk on his face, and she couldn't stand to deal with that at the moment. But she chanced a look upward anyway, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw his face.

Gary Oak's face was twisted into an expression of concern. He was worried. Worried about her. The shock of it made her head spin and she braced herself against the chair. Gary darted forward and grasped her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly, and the same worry that she had seen on his face was present in his voice as he looked into her eyes. She felt herself blushing again.

"Just peachy," she replied, trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid his eyes. She laughed. "I can't believe you're actually worried about me."

For the briefest of moments, she felt him tense, but then he was pulling away from her and smirking and she wondered if she'd imagined the whole thing.

"Don't get too carried away," he told her, teasingly, before walking away in the direction of the kitchen. She just sighed and let him go. She was already feeling so bad, and having him worry about her was giving her a lot to think about.

_Does this mean he cares about me…?_ Leaf wondered, reaching for the TV remote. _But he always acts like such a jerk!_ It was hard for her to believe that he might actually be concerned about her.

She flicked through the channels and settled for a movie that was on. In it, two little kids - a boy and a girl - were talking about Pokémon and anticipating the day they would receive their own. Immediately Leaf thought back to her own childhood, to the time where she and Gary were best friends. Before he started teasing her all the time and acting like an arrogant jerk. She remembered all the good times they shared, all the times they laughed together and played outside until they were covered in dirt. All the times he'd smiled at her, not the annoying smirk that he usually wore now but a genuine smile, one that touched her heart and made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. All the pleasant times they had had together before he'd changed.

_Oh, Gary, why can't you be the same as you were before?_ She missed the old Gary. The one that affectionately called her 'Leafy', the one that was always nice to her and who she could always depend on. The one she'd come to care about so much.

_But you still do care about him_, a distant part of her mind whispered, and she realised it was true. She _did_ still care about him, despite everything. She'd never stopped caring. And, she realised suddenly, he'd never stopped caring about her, either.

Sure, their relationship had changed over the years. They'd gone from always being nice to each other and having fun to constantly teasing and trying to beat the other at everything. But even though things were different now, some things never changed. They'd never stopped caring about each other, deep down. Leaf would always be there for Gary when he needed her, and she realised now that Gary would always be there for her. Like he was now.

As if summoned by her thoughts, at that moment Gary came into the living room carrying a steaming cup of tea. He handed it to her and she took it gratefully, noting that it was her favourite: green tea. He took a seat beside her and they sat in silence as they watched the movie together, Leaf taking small sips from the mug occasionally.

Once again she was reminded of the similarities between the children in the movie and the younger versions of Gary and herself. The resemblance was uncanny; the girl even had long brown hair much like her own and the boy's hair, also brown, was slightly spiked. She shivered.

Gary looked over at her then, and immediately started re-wrapping the blanket around her. Clearly, he thought she was cold. When he was done with that he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her closer. She tensed for a moment, surprised, then snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes in contentment. She felt the rumble of laughter in his chest and she blushed at their closeness.

"Silly girl," he muttered playfully, and she didn't say anything in response. She was too busy being wrapped up in the warmth and comfort that Gary provided, trying to calm the tremors of excitement that coursed through her body with each rise and fall of his chest and each heartbeat. Soon she felt herself drifting off to sleep within the firm, loving embrace of her best friend/rival.

"Gary," she mumbled softly, half-asleep, "I love you." Distantly, she felt his warmth shift as he cupped her face gently.

"I love you too, Leafy," he whispered back, and he leaned in slowly, touching his lips to hers softly for the briefest of kisses. And guess what happened then? Leaf sneezed. Right into his face.

Gary jerked back as though he had been shot, letting Leaf fall back down against the chair. She opened her eyes lazily and saw him glaring at her as he scrubbed his face furiously with his hands.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled, standing up and walking toward the bathroom. "You sneezed in my_ face_!"

"Oh, come on, I'm sick, remember!" she countered, leaning back in the chair as she wiped her nose. She smiled, the ghost of his lips still lingering on hers.

Needless to say, she had definitely been provided with a distraction from her cold, one that would stay in her mind for a long time.


End file.
